Tyberius
Look Ma, No Hands!
Started pulling apart the 1950s Tiger I got as part of a package deal for an old Raleigh. I figured I would begin my training on the suble art of Evaporust and see if I can bring this Tiger back from extinction. I thought I'd start on the chainguard to see how the rust removal goes with the paint. Amazingly, the lower end came apart witout a lot of fuss. I figured there was a pretty realistic scenario where I break or bend something trying to get it apart and it becomes a lawn ornament.
There was A LOT of petrified grease on the internal bearings and races but that came loose after an overnight soak in some old gasoline. After a dish soap bath, everything went into the Evaporust. I separated the chain guard from the plated pieces in case there was some wierd reaction and McGuyvered a "bin" out of some mylar I had and a cardboard box. Nothing much happened for the first 4 hours. After about 6 hours there was signs it was starting to work but I ended up keeping the parts in for almost 30 hours total.
After re-cleaning in soapy water, into a 170 degree oven to bake (ahh..the smell of fresh bike parts! Pro Tip: Wait until your wife is at lunch or preferably out of the country before using her oven) I used linseed oil thinned about 50/50 with turpentine to seal the metal.
Pictures speak for themselves, I can't believe there was that much paint and chrome under all that crud.
Some learnings:
- Wear gloves and eye protection around Evaporust - it may be nontoxic but it's still an acid, my hands started to get itchy after some exposure
- Evaporust says to use paper towels for large items or pieces sticking up out of the bath, I think the next time I'd use old washcloths, cheesecloth, burlap, etc. The paper towels tended to rise off the surface and started to disentegrate over time. Plus with cloth you can re-use.
- bottle says soak parts for 1-12 hours. Mine took 30. Having a toothbrust and some Scotchbrite pads to give things a gentle scrub seemed to help with really caked on rust.
- the only real loss was the 'Schwinn Tiger' logo on the chainguard. There wasn't a lot there to begin with but it was the first to go. I think with painted stuff you need to check in on it from time to time. When I felt the pinstriping was starting to erode I pulled the chainguard out and washed it.
Anyway, this will probably be a start and stop project but I am encouraged by the initial results. I was going to name this bike "Rusty" but who knows, might need a new name.
There was A LOT of petrified grease on the internal bearings and races but that came loose after an overnight soak in some old gasoline. After a dish soap bath, everything went into the Evaporust. I separated the chain guard from the plated pieces in case there was some wierd reaction and McGuyvered a "bin" out of some mylar I had and a cardboard box. Nothing much happened for the first 4 hours. After about 6 hours there was signs it was starting to work but I ended up keeping the parts in for almost 30 hours total.
After re-cleaning in soapy water, into a 170 degree oven to bake (ahh..the smell of fresh bike parts! Pro Tip: Wait until your wife is at lunch or preferably out of the country before using her oven) I used linseed oil thinned about 50/50 with turpentine to seal the metal.
Pictures speak for themselves, I can't believe there was that much paint and chrome under all that crud.
Some learnings:
- Wear gloves and eye protection around Evaporust - it may be nontoxic but it's still an acid, my hands started to get itchy after some exposure
- Evaporust says to use paper towels for large items or pieces sticking up out of the bath, I think the next time I'd use old washcloths, cheesecloth, burlap, etc. The paper towels tended to rise off the surface and started to disentegrate over time. Plus with cloth you can re-use.
- bottle says soak parts for 1-12 hours. Mine took 30. Having a toothbrust and some Scotchbrite pads to give things a gentle scrub seemed to help with really caked on rust.
- the only real loss was the 'Schwinn Tiger' logo on the chainguard. There wasn't a lot there to begin with but it was the first to go. I think with painted stuff you need to check in on it from time to time. When I felt the pinstriping was starting to erode I pulled the chainguard out and washed it.
Anyway, this will probably be a start and stop project but I am encouraged by the initial results. I was going to name this bike "Rusty" but who knows, might need a new name.